Favre believes he'll be in mix at MSU

Having the last name of Favre carries a great deal of weight in the football world.

It''s a unique name that became very well known when Brett Favre, a quarterback from Kiln in south Mississippi, emerged as a Pro Bowler and Super Bowl winner for the Green Bay Packers.

Brett''s career continued Sunday as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, who beat the Dallas Cowboys 34-3 to earn a spot in the National Football Conference championship game.

Another quarterback in south Mississippi with the last name of Favre is looking to make name for himself.

Dylan Favre, Brett''s nephew, led St. Stanislaus High School to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A state championship in December.

A few weeks ago, Dylan gave a verbal commitment to continue his football career at Mississippi State. He insists he doesn''t think about having a famous uncle and tries not to let that fact affect how he plays the game.

"A lot of people like to build it up to something that it''s not," Dylan said. "It didn''t matter if my name was Favre, Smith, or Johnson, I try to approach the game the same way. It wouldn''t be any different."

St. Stanislaus coach Forrest Williams said the only other high school player in the country playing with type of shadow that Dylan does would be Nick Montana, the son of former San Francisco 49er quarterback Joe Montana.

Williams believes Dylan handles being a "Favre" extremely well.

"There are not many guys who have a three-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl winner as their uncle," Williams said. "He does well with it. He''s always been very down to earth. It''s not like he hangs out with Brett all the time and gets all of this arcane football knowledge. He talks with Brett a good bit and they text back and forth, but he''s his own guy. He wants to be successful and do his own thing."

Dylan sees Brett as an ordinary uncle who goes to work every day. His job just happens to be a professional quarterback.

"We don''t have any special relationship just because he plays in the NFL," Dylan said. "I don''t try to go out there trying to be Brett Favre because if I did, I''d struggle. He''s his own player and I''m my own player. I''m just trying to be the best player I can be."

Dylan has been pretty good at it so far. He accounted for 6,854 total yards (5,589 yards passing, 1,265 rushing) at St. Stanislaus.

Barton Simmons, the Southeast Region analyst for Rivals.com, is impressed with Favre''s high school numbers and his versatility.

"I got to see him last year in a game," Simmons said. "He''s been incredibly successful. One of the things that sticks out to me about him is he plays both sides of the football and plays defense at a really high level. He makes a lot of tackles in playing center field at safety."

Favre is looking forward to signing with the Bulldogs next month and competing for the starting quarterback job in August.

Despite Chris Relf and Tyler Russell already being at MSU and having the opportunity to work at spring practice, Favre plans to be in the mix.

"Not taking anything away from Russell, Relf, or anyone else they bring in, but I think I have a good shot to play," Favre said. "I know I''ve got a long way to go coming from high school ball to the Southeastern Conference, but I''m a competitor, and I know I''ll come up there to compete for a job for sure. I''m planning to give it everything I have and we''ll see what happens."

Williams is anxious to see how Favre fits in with the Bulldogs.

In what he''s learned about MSU coach Dan Mullen, Williams believes Favre will get a fair chance to compete at quarterback.

"The thing I like about coach Mullen, he''ll let the best player get in there," Williams said. "Dylan has a very strong arm, a live arm, and he has one of the best football IQs I''ve ever been around, so I believe he''ll be able to get in there and understand what coach Mullen wants to get done."

"Dylan is a true quarterback," Porter said. "There''s that question mark about how he''s going to handle the SEC and if he''ll be able to look over the offensive linemen. Because of his footwork, he''s got a chance.

"He''s not the fastest in straight-away speed, but like we saw in great quarterbacks like Dan Marino or Joe Montana, they are good in the pocket where they do take a step away and avoid the pressure."

Williams has watched Favre his high school career and doesn''t think his size will be a factor as he moves forward.

"If you are going to underestimate somebody because of their height, then you are taking out a lot of other things such as playmaking ability and overall just being a winner," Williams said.

Williams calls Favre "a great athlete" who will do what it takes to win in the weight room and in the offseason. He said Favre is already making plans to be in Starkville this summer, to enroll in summer school, and to start learning the system.

Williams believes Favre will be able to adapt.

"A lot of people accuse him of being a system guy, but I don''t think he has thrown for the yardage he has, the touchdowns, and won a championship just being a system guy," Williams said. "He''ll be very successful at the next level."

Reader Comments

jan commented at 1/22/2010 2:29:00 PM:

Sounds as if Mr. Williams just might disagree quite a bit with Yancy's evaluation of Mr. Favre where his height is concerned. My evaluation is that Coach Mullen will work with Mr. Favre's talent and develop him into a Southeastern Conference quarterback whether he's 5'10" or 10'5". Sorry, Yancy, he's a Bulldog! You'd be singing his praises and disregarding his stature if he had signed with TSUN.